


Ransomed Memories

by TheLordismyGod



Category: Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 08:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4738991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLordismyGod/pseuds/TheLordismyGod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherman is kidnapped, but Mr. Peabody will have to make a tough choice: Save a life, but lose Sherman forever... or take one and get Sherman back. Read on to see what choice he makes...and how it affects him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The stage is set

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! First of all I want to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and also reviewed my first story. It was so encouraging reading those. This will be my second fanfic and I’m just jumping right in with chapters and a couple OCs. Considering that these are my first OCs, along with this first chapter being OC centered, hopefully you aren’t put off, expecting Peabs and Sherm. But don’t worry, they appear in the next chapter. Also, being that they’re my first OCs, don’t expect too much in the way of character development for them. Since I don’t have any other ideas ATM, I will be able to focus solely on this story, so that’s a good thing I suppose. If I got anything factually wrong in this chapter please forgive me, I didn’t do much research. I feel more comfortable writing for Peabody and Sherman than OCs. ANYWAYS, without further ado, I present the first chapter of “Ransomed Memories”….  
> Originally posted to Fanfiction.net here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11209738/1/Ransomed-Memories

Beep… beep… beep…. The sound of a heart rate monitor filled Martin Thomas’ ears as he sat by his wife Ellie’s bedside in a hospital in New York City. Ellie had recently been diagnosed with cancer, lung cancer. It was only a matter of time before she would be gone, it had spread too far, too long. They hadn’t caught it in time. She was too far gone and would be dead in a matter of hours.

“Caught it in time…..” Martin hated time, there were a couple moments in his life where he had wished time would just stop, and their wedding day was one. They had met at the same college, The State University of New York, where they were both business majors and the same age. She was also studying Mandarin Chinese and him Spanish. They discovered that they liked the same things, travelling, the same foods, and they fell in love and got married right after they graduated at 25 years old. They decided to not have any kids, and he became a successful businessman and started travelling the world. Since she loved travelling too she came with him whenever he would go. They both loved seeing new places, trying new foods, and meeting new people. They say opposites attract but in this case that was the complete opposite. For five years they were happy travelling the world. Until one week ago, when she was diagnosed with Adenocarcinomas, a type of lung cancer. He barely any time to go through the stages of anticipatory grief when the doctors told him she had a week to live. She was 30, how can she die now? He felt it wasn’t fair, she was so full of life. She was the life of the party wherever they went, and she could easily connect with anyone they met. Well, time wasn’t going to stop anytime soon….

“Martin.”

He was jolted out of his thoughts ‘Hmm?”

She raised a hand to his head to stroke his red hair.

“I want you to know I love you.”

He smiled and laughed slightly “You always tell me that, but I love you too.” his countenance fell again.

“I know, I just like saying it. Can you do one last thing for me?”

“Anything.” He said.

“Please don’t give in to hate and bitterness because I’m gone. I know it’s clichéd but it’s happened way too many times on movies. It will be easy to do that but, if you need to, find someone to make you happy… you need to exercise your feelings too…” The heart rate monitor started beeping rapidly and she started shaking and struggling to breathe “Ellie?” Martin slammed the button for the nurse. “We need a nurse in here!” He yelled.

The doctor rushed in and said “There’s nothing else I can do. Do you want her to suffer or pass peacefully?”

“Peacefully of course.” he replied.

The doctor nodded and moved to her bedside and injected her with a drug.

“She only has a few moments left….I’d make the most of them.” the doctor said.

He focused on her eyes, the color of fire. He was already crying. “Ellie, I love you.”

“I love you too….” She closed her eyes and let out one last breath. The monitor flat lined. She was gone. Martin laid his head on her bedside and let the tears fall. The doctor quietly left Martin to his grieving.

Martin was vaguely aware of a hand shaking him. He looked up to see one of the nurses looking at him. “mmm, wha…”

“Sir, you fell asleep.”

“Oh, how long has it been?”

She gestured to the window “About 8 hours.” He could see that it was dark outside.

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” she said.

“Thank you.” He replied and got up without looking at the body on the bed. He left the room quietly and walked through the halls as if in a stupor. He only remembered the next few days vaguely and passing by in a blur. He got home, remembered calling the funeral home making arrangements and setting a funeral and visitation date. Most of the rest of his time was spent thinking, crying, and more thinking. Mainly about his memories with her.

The date of the funeral came and he was vaguely aware of going to the church. He was unable to stand up and say anything so most of Ellie’s family and friends got up and said a couple words.

It was finally over and the widow returned home, the house feeling completely empty and feeling like it was sucking the air out of him. He had loved her so much he now felt like a part of him was gone. If only he had a time machine…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this felt rushed, I’m sorry, it’s probably because it was, but this is the “stage” if you will, for the whole story. I didn’t like writing this chapter and feel like I could do better and I promise the next ones will get better. But hopefully you’re intrigued.


	2. Act I: Scene I: Impatient Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I fast-tracked Chapter 2 because I’m so excited about the rest of this story. My update schedule is probably going to be really erratic with this story, just an FYI. I may upload the next day, but then it may be a week, or even a month before I get the next chapter up. Also, in order to make this story work, I’ve had to make Peabody a genius at futuristic tech too, transporter, micro technology, memory alteration etc. Just go with it.

**_15 years later…_ **

He was now 45. It had not been easy living without her. He felt like he was spiraling into depression, although he didn’t think that was true, because he still hung out with his friends, still HAD friends, still did things, but he couldn’t bring himself to go out with women. He wanted to be a loner in that area. He didn’t want to ruin her memories by marrying again. So he had stayed single.

It was nighttime. He was sitting in the living room watching the news on the TV when the newscaster spoke.

“This is just in, a giant blue wormhole has appeared in the middle of the street and what looks like historical characters have appeared out of it. Mr. Peabody, the world renowned genius canine has caused quite a stir in the middle of NYC tonight when he flew an object that looks like a big red ball and crashed into the middle of Central Park. Apparently that big red “ship” is a time machine of his own invention….”

Martin wasn’t listening anymore. The newscaster had lost him at “time machine”

“That ‘dog’ invented a time machine?!” he thought. Hope started to flare up in him.

“If that dog has a time machine then I should be able to go back and see my wife one last time.” Martin sighed, then scoffed “That’s impossible. I doubt that dog will let me just waltz in and use his time machine.” he thought.

He knew all about the genius dog and his adopted son. He heard it all over the news 7 years ago when the canine genius’ face was plastered all over the news, everyone talking about how he had adopted a human boy. Martin had thought it was “disgusting” being of the opinion of most people: “A dog should not be able to adopt a human, even a talking one. Pretty soon we’ll be giving basic human rights to regular dogs and then what?! Plants?!” He had said to a newscaster that had interviewed him on the street when the adoption occurred. Now, here he was, 7 years later hearing about them again.

“If that dog went through an entire court system just to adopt a human, along with having opposition to it, he must really care about that boy… a lot. And since that dog is the richest “being” on the planet, he must be willing to do whatever it takes to get the child back….I should be able to ‘convince’ him to take me back to see my wife….”   “No, no hang on….I’m not a kidnapper… am I?” “I can’t be seriously considering this…”

But that dog had a time machine, and the one thing he wanted more than anything in this world was to see his wife again. And this would provide the perfect opportunity…..

* * *

 

Sherman Peabody sighed. He was lying on his bed in his penthouse in New York City. It was a cool summer day so the windows were propped open, letting in the cool summer air. Sherman was reading one of his many comic books while waiting for Mr. Peabody to take him to Thrillz. Thrillz was an indoor arcade that had opened in the city nearby, it had arcade games, rides, and a mini golf course. When Mr. Peabody and Sherman were driving to school one day they saw it with a big “grand opening” sign. Sherman had gotten so excited about it and asked Mr. Peabody if they could go and Mr. Peabody had said yes and promised to take him today. But he had told Sherman earlier this morning that he had some work to do and had said it was very important that he finish it before they go. Sherman had been feeling impatient for a while now and decided to go see what Peabody was working on to hopefully take his mind off of waiting. He threw his comic book on his bed and jumped off.

He wandered out of his room and through the hallway to the elevator. He hit the button for one floor down to his father’s lab and the WABAC room. As he got out and turned to the left toward the lab door he saw Mr. Peabody sitting at one of the lab tables looking into a microscope.

Peabody looked up and smiled. “Hello Sherman.” the dog greeted him warmly.

“Hi, Mr. Peabody are you almost done?” he said.

“Almost.”

“What ARE you working on?”

“I believe I’m finished with my greatest invention yet. It’s a device that will allow me to retain memories.”

“But don’t you retain memories already?”

“Yes but this will allow me to retain memories from alternate universes.” Sherman gave him a quizzical look.

“You remember when you met yourself that day when you took Penny in the WABAC?”

“Yeah.”

“Well something could happen that’s called an alternate universe. Say for example you went right now and took the WABAC by yourself and travelled back to the day that I found you. Say a few minutes right before, and convinced me to take an alternate route. What would happen is you and I would immediately be flung into an alternate universe where I never found you. BUT, we wouldn’t remember anything of this universe because this one never happened. You would have no idea that you had lived a different life. You may have ended up in an orphanage, or someone else’s home and wouldn’t know any better. And who knows what would’ve happened to me. And that scares me. I can’t lose you Sherman, so I’ve invented this device as a roundabout way to keep you safe….Even if I have to traverse many universes to find you. Since the WABAC ‘knows’ about all the alternate universes I’ve programmed it to use a subspace connection to this little device and it will record all of my memories and store them in a database for the universe it’s currently in. If and when a new one forms and my memories are wiped, the WABAC will send them to this little device and it will interact with my hippocampus and alter my memory instantaneously, restoring my memories of the previous universe, but it will keep my old ones intact, that way I know I’m actually in an alternate universe and can set to work restoring the old one.”

“Wow. Ok.” Most of it had gone over Sherman’s head but he didn’t mind.

“Now I just need to introduce it into my brain at the right position and I should be done.”

“Your brain?! Isn’t that dangerous?!” said Sherman.

“No, I’ve triple checked my calculations and it will go right where I need it to.”

He took the petri dish over to another lab table that held a strange device with a helmet attached to it and held it under the scanner. He tapped a couple buttons on the keyboard and then sat down on a chair that was nearby and lowered the helmet onto his head.

“Sherman, when I tell you I need you to hit the green button on the screen.”

“Ok, Mr. Peabody.” Peabody readjusted and tightened the helmet on his head.

“Now Sherman.”

Sherman hit the button. There was a brief pause where nothing happened.

“Did it work?” Sherman asked.

“Yes it did,” Peabody replied and pointed to the screen. It read ‘transportation success’ “The device is now in my brain. Now I just need to go to the WABAC and test it.”

He walked out of the lab and over to the door that held the WABAC. They both stepped onto the platform as it began moving. It reached the WABAC and they stepped inside. Peabody moved over to one of the keyboards on the side and began typing in it.

“Program success.” the female voice of the WABAC said after a few seconds.

“Perfect.” Peabody said. “Alright Sherman, this is the ‘moment of truth’ if you will. Since I don’t have any memories that have been wiped I will need to test it by erasing a current one. I’m going to tell you something and then erase my memory of telling you. As soon as I do I need you to ask me what the last thing I said was, ok?”

Sherman had a hard time hiding the anxiety in his voice as he answered in the affirmative.

Peabody nodded, looked Sherman straight in the eye, took a deep breath and said “I love you Sherman.” He immediately turned around and hit a couple keys on the keyboard. Sherman heard a beep and Peabody swayed on the spot but recovered and looked at Sherman again.

“I love-” he started to say.

“Wait!” Sherman interrupted him “What was the last thing you said?”

“I said ‘as soon as I do I need you to ask me what the last thing I said was’…. But I haven’t done it yet Sherman.”

Sherman looked at him “Um, you actually have Mr. Peabody.”

“Then what was I going to say? Or, I should say, what HAVE I said?”

“You said you loved me.” said Sherman with a smile.

Peabody smiled, pulled a victory paw and said “Then it’s a success. I just need to program in a few more subroutines and then we’re done here.”

“Really?! Then we can go to Thrillz?” said Sherman.

“Yes, go get your coat while I do this and then we can go.”

Sherman bounded out of the WABAC and across the platform. He opened the elevator and hit the button for one floor up. He rushed to his room and grabbed his coat. As he reached the elevator again he saw Mr. Peabody standing inside it. “Ready to go?” Peabody asked him.

“Absolutely.” Sherman got in the elevator too and Peabody hit the button for the ground floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so hopefully things just got more interesting. Chapter 3 should be up soon as well.


	3. Act I: Scene II: The Kidnapping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so if you think I literally just typed this chapter out today well that’s not that case. I’ve been working on this story long before I published the first chapter. I’m really just so excited about this story and I know how it is when you’re reading a good fic that’s unfinished but the person takes forever to update it, so I decided to take my time and get most of the chapters done before I even published the first chapter. The next chapter is actually the one I’ve written the least amount for so it will definitely be awhile before that one.

The elevator stopped at the ground floor and they both exited.

“Hello Mr. Peabody, Sherman.” their receptionist greeted them with a smile.

“Hello Ashley.” Mr. Peabody said.

“Where are you off to today?” she asked them.

“We’re going to Thrillz!” said Sherman.

“Oh, that amusement park place, I went there recently with my kids, it’s pretty fun.”

“I’m so excited.” said Sherman.

“Well, have fun.” she said.

“We will I’m sure.” said Mr. Peabody.

They left the building and felt the cool air of summer hit them. Peabody got on the moped and Sherman hopped into the sidecar. As they drove Peabody couldn’t shake this strange feeling that someone was watching them….

They finally reached Thrillz and Peabody parked the mope. Sherman hopped out of the sidecar and Peabody followed him into the building.

It was huge, the ceiling stretched high into the metal beams holding the building up and the sheer amount of sensory overload threatened to overwhelm the dog. There were blinking flashing lights coming from the games and the rides and the sounds were almost too loud. But he had learned to tame his dog hearing and loud sounds such as the ones he was hearing now didn’t affect him as much.

“Alright Sherman lets first go get some tokens for the games and then you can play some of them and then we’ll check the rides out and save the mini golf for last.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sherman replied.

Peabody nodded and headed over to the counter. After paying the man for tokens Sherman was delighted to discover that all the games gave out tickets for prizes depending on how well you played the game. There was a ball rolling game where you had to roll the ball at just the right speed to hit the target. Peabody may have helped Sherman with that one a couple. There were many others, and Sherman tried each one.

“Are you ready to go on the rides, Sherman?” Peabody asked him.

“Almost Mr. Peabody.” Sherman had come back to the ball rolling game, he liked that one the most. “One more game and then we can go on them.” Peabody watched as Sherman threw the ball at too high a speed, it rolled up too far and landed in the into the 10 point hole.

“I only have one more so I got to make this count.” he said.

“Sherman do you mind if I do it?” the beagle asked him.

“Sure.”

Peabody took the last ball and showed Sherman how to do it properly. “It’s all in the wrist and the speed at which you throw the ball. He deftly flicked his paw and flung the ball at just the right speed so naturally, the ball rolled right into the 100 point bull’s-eye.

“Wow, thanks Mr. Peabody.” Sherman smiled at him.

They then proceeded to go on the rides, there was a mini roller coaster, which Sherman didn’t think was too exciting, his favorite by far was one called the tilt a whirl, it had little carriages like a Ferris wheel, but they were round and had little half domes over them, they would spin on an axis and you would sit in them and the centrifugal force would pin you against the back. Sherman thought they were the best thing but Peabody felt sick and got off after the first ride. He sat on a nearby bench as he waited for Sherman to tire of the ride.

“Mr. Peabody?” He heard the voice and looked up.

A young man of about 25 with dark brown hair was walking up to Mr. Peabody.

“Mr. Ericson, what a pleasant surprise, what are you doing here?”

“Please, call me Daniel. You know how working for you at Peabody Industries can get tiresome, I need to relax my brain once in a while, and I’m here with some buddies of mine. We were just on our way to the mini golf course, would you like to join us? I just need to gather them all, they seemed to have scattered….”

“I think that would be fun.”

“Where’s that boy Sherman of yours?” he said.

“Oh, he’s still on the Tilt-a-whirl.” Peabody gestured to the ride behind him.

At that moment Sherman got off the ride and walked over to them unevenly.

“Oh, Sherman, this is Daniel Ericson, he works for me.” Peabody said.

“Hi.” said Sherman timidly.

“Hi Sherman, Mr. Peabody’s told me all about you.” said Daniel.

Sherman smiled and Peabody blushed through his fur.

Sherman’s smile fell a little as he said “Mr. Peabody, I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Alright come right back here and then we’ll go to the mini golf course and play a game with Mr. Ericson here.”

“Alright.” said Sherman.

“Hey Mr. Peabody can I talk to you real quick about that….” Daniel started to say but Sherman didn’t hear the rest as he made his way past the ticket counter and over to the bathrooms.

There was no one else around except for a man with red hair sitting on a bench looking at his phone. Sherman walked into the bathroom and closed the door. He didn’t quite feel sick rather it felt like the tilt-a-whirl had made him have to go. He went and washed his hands and opened the door. He had barely taken a few steps when he felt a strong arm grab him from behind and another place a damp cloth over his mouth and nose. He tried to yell but couldn’t. As he struggled a sweet smell filled his nose and he began to feel lightheaded. The last thing he heard before slipping into unconsciousness was a man saying “Sorry kid, but I need to do this”

“…And so I feel that it would be better to move the signage department down a floor.” Daniel was saying.

Peabody suddenly became very aware of the time. “How long has it been?” He interrupted Daniel.

“I’m sorry?”

“How long has it been since Sherman went to the bathroom?”

“I don’t know, maybe 10 minutes?”

“I’d better check on him.”

“Well how about you meet us at the golf course?”

“Of course.” Peabody said, distracted.

Daniel walked off toward the golf course and Peabody headed for the bathrooms.

He had a sinking feeling of foreboding as he reached the doors. Sherman was nowhere in sight. He knocked on the door. “Sherman?” No answer. He opened the door and looked in. The bathroom was empty.

Fear the likes of which the dog had never experienced before shot through his veins like ice. He lowered his nose trying to get a whiff of Sherman’s scent. He found it, but not before another person’s met his nose as well.

Still refusing to believe the worst, he quickly ran to the ticket counter. “Do you have a PA system?” he asked the man at the counter.

“Yes we do.” the man said.

“Can you page a Sherman Peabody?” the dog asked frantically.

The man complied “Sherman Peabody, I repeat, Sherman Peabody, Please meet your party at the ticket counter.” He spoke into the loudspeaker.

Peabody thanked him and started pacing. “ _Maybe he went home by himself…No, why would he do that, Peabody_ ….. _He has to have been kidnapped, there no other possible explanation.”_ Peabody thought.

He waited for a few more minutes and then decided to search the entire arcade. He ran through the games, didn’t find him there. He found Daniel waiting at the golf course.

“Daniel, Sherman’s been kidnapped!”

“How do you know?!”

“He’s not in the bathrooms or anywhere in the arcade. I’ve searched everywhere. I also smelled someone else near the bathrooms.”

“Ok, well I would go to the police as soon as possible and have them put out an APB. If he has completely disappeared then I don’t think there is anything else that we can do.”

Peabody decided in that moment that that was probably the best thing to do and bid farewell to Daniel. He decided to quickly go back to the bathroom to see if he could track where Sherman went. He lowered his nose to the ground. The strange persons scent met his nose again. As he tracked it, his stomach lurched as he noticed that the strange persons scent stayed along the same path as Sherman’s. He tracked it out the doors and to the parking lot….to an empty space. That confirmed it…Sherman was most definitely kidnapped. He would never go with a stranger anywhere willingly. He jumped onto the moped and sped off to the nearest police station.

As he neared the police station he parked the moped, jumped off and ran inside. Peabody being the famous dog that he is was well known by most of the police officers and he knew a couple of them personally as well. They recognized him as he ran in and yelled to none in particular: “Sherman’s been abducted!”

“Hang on Peabody, tell us what happened.” one said as he approached Peabody.

Peabody took a deep breath and explained from the beginning. “…And he wasn’t anywhere in the building, I tracked his scent to an empty parking space!” he said as he finished.

The officer took down Sherman’s physical description and said they would put out an APB and do what they can.

Peabody thanked him and slowly walked out of the station. A million thoughts swirled in his head as he made his way to the moped, the main one being “ _WHY?_ _Why would someone kidnap Sherman? ....There’s 2 possibilities… Either they are spiteful and were against my adoption of him…or they know how rich I am and simply did it for ransom. In that case they should be contacting me eventually…_ ”Peabody thought as he drove. He reached a red stoplight and his stomach lurched again as he thought of a third possibility. “ _The whole world knows about the WABAC now….What if they kidnapped him because they want the WABAC? I can’t give them that!…who knows what could happen…_ ” He was jolted out of his thoughts as a honk sounded behind him. The light had turned green. He waved in apology and continued on to the penthouse. He entered the lobby. Ashley had gone home for the night. He walked to the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. As it rose he simply hoped that all the kidnappers wanted was money and that he would get Sherman back soon….

He didn’t feel very hungry so he didn’t eat and most of his time the rest of the night was spent pacing. He eventually made his way to Sherman’s bedroom, mostly out of habit to tuck him in. He opened the door and realized what he had done. A small tear slipped onto his muzzle.

He jolted as his phone rang, he looked at the caller ID, “ _Blocked_ ” it said. His hope rose. “ _Maybe that’s them calling about Sherman._ ” he thought. His heart hammered in his chest as he put it under his ear and answered “Hello Mr. Peabody speaking.” 

“Hello Mr. Peabody….my name is Martin Thomas, and being the smart dog you are I have a feeling you know who I am and what I am calling about.”

Peabody growled “Did you abduct Sherman?”

“You have a lot of money, Mr. Peabody, which begs the question…how much are you willing to pay to get the boy back?”


	4. Act II: Scene I: Scared Meeting

Sherman woke with a start. The first thing he noticed was that his hands were behind him and he couldn’t move them. He was handcuffed to a chair. As he took in his surroundings he noticed he was in a house that was definitely not his own. He was in the kitchen dining room, handcuffed to one of the chairs. There was a breakfast nook to his left and he was facing a bay window. The walls were painted with a nasty green color with leaf designs.

All at once his memories came flooding back and he suddenly became very scared.  At the same time he heard someone coming from down the hall to his right. He looked and saw a middle aged man with fiery red hair coming down it. He saw Sherman was awake and held up his hands. “Now look kid, before you say anything, I know what you’re thinking and first of all, I’m not going to hurt you.” he said.

“Why did you kidnap me?” Sherman asked.

“I just need to use your…. ‘Dads’ time machine, that’s all. And I needed you for insurance. I was just about to call him. I suppose he’ll want to talk to you so I waited till you were awake.”

He sat down in the chair across the table from Sherman and pulled a cellphone out of his jacket and dialed a number and held it up to his ear. After a few moments he said “Hello Mr. Peabody….my name is Martin Thomas….”

* * *

 

Peabody growled again. “If you’ve hurt Sherman in any way, shape or-”

“Believe me I haven’t Mr. Peabody, I’m not like that. I just want one thing from you.”

“I’ll pay whatever you want-” Martin interrupted him. “I don’t want your money.”

Peabody stiffened. What he had feared had come true. “You want the WABAC don’t you?”

“Oh, is that what you call your time machine? Yes, but I don’t want to keep it. My wife died 15 years ago and I have been miserable ever since. I want to see her again. In exchange for Sherman’s return I want a trip in the WABAC to 15 years ago to see her, that’s all I want.”

Peabody face pawed “I can’t just take people gallivanting wherever they want to go through time! Who knows what could happen to the time stream!” He said.

“I know a bit about time travel, I won’t interact with her, I just want to see her again. I won’t even leave the machine. And if you don’t agree then Sherman stays put until you do.” Martin said simply.

Peabody thought about it “Before I decide anything I need to know Sherman is ok. Put him on.”

Martin complied and Peabody heard the phone moving through the air.

“Mr. Peabody?”

“Sherman! Are you alright?”

“Yes, but I woke up handcuffed to a chair. But I’m fine, Martin hasn’t hurt me.”

“So Mr. Peabody, what is your answer?” Martin said as he brought the phone back to his ear.

“What did you do to him?!” Peabody yelled.

“I simply drugged him with chloroform, knocks a person out without any pain. He’s fine.”

“Grrr, fine. Yes, I agree to your terms” he said. “On one condition, Sherman does not come with us.”

“I have no problem with that.” Martin replied.

“I live-” Peabody began but Martin interrupted him again “I know where you live…I’ll come first thing tomorrow morning at 8.”

Peabody heard a click and the line went dead.

* * *

 

“Alright Sherman, he’s agreed to what I want so you’ll be home tomorrow.” Martin said with a smile as he got up. “It’s late so I’d get some sleep.” He started walking down the hall.

“Wait! What about me?” Sherman yelled after him. Martin turned around. “What about you?” He remembered Sherman’s current state and replied. “Oh, yes. Well I can’t have you running away so you’ll just have to sleep there tonight, here,” He grabbed a blanket off the couch nearby. “You can have this.” he said as he threw it over him “Goodnight” He started walking down the hall again.

Sherman had a very un-fitful night trying to get comfortable in the chair to sleep. It seemed like only moments later after Sherman had finally fallen asleep that he felt Martin shaking him. As he opened his eyes he noticed sunlight streaming in through the bay window and that the blanket had fallen off of him.

“Alright so it’s almost eight, we gotta get going.” Martin said. He leaned over and unlocked the handcuffs. Sherman stood up and rubbed his wrists to get the blood flowing again.

They had breakfast and then Martin got up from the table.

“Now there’s just something I need you to know about.” Martin said as he lifted his jacket and revealed a gun stuck in his belt. Sherman gasped. “I sincerely hope I don’t have to use this. It’s just secondary insurance. Let’s go.”

Sherman followed him out to the car and got in the passenger side. Martin got in and started the car and backed out of the driveway. Sherman was quiet as they drove.

He finally ventured to ask: “What was your wife’s name?”

“Ellie.”

“What did she look like?”

Martin sighed and smiled a little “She had the most beautiful brown hair and eyes you’ve ever seen. Her eyes were the color of autumn leaves, not quite brown but still in that zone. If you caught them in the light just right they would look like they were on fire….I don’t want to talk about it anymore...”

They finally reached the penthouse. Martin and Sherman got out and he put a hand on Sherman’s shoulder “Now, this is what’s going to happen: you are going to tell the receptionist that I saved you and am returning you.”

Remembering the gun in Martins belt Sherman did as he was told. He walked into the lobby and Martin followed him.

“Sherman!” Ashley yelled as she rushed over and hugged him. “Are you okay? I saw the police were looking for you and that you were kidnapped.” she said as she put him at arm’s length and inspected him.

“Yes I was but I’m fine now.” Sherman smiled nervously. He gestured to Martin “Martin found me and saved me.”

“Oh.” She stood up and looked at him. “Thank you.”

Martin smiled and nodded and he and Sherman stepped inside the elevator. Sherman hit the button for the penthouse and the elevator rose.

When it reached the top it opened and revealed Peabody standing there wringing his paws.

“Sherman!” he yelled as he practically bowled Sherman over. “Are you okay?” he said looking him over and finally planting a kiss on his forehead.

“I’m fine Mr. Peabody, I’m not hurt.” Sherman said.

Martin cleared his throat and Peabody finally took notice of him. “Martin.” he said simply.

“Well, you know why I’m here, and, just so you know, I have this as secondary insurance.” Martin said as he lifted his jacket again and revealed the gun to Mr. Peabody. “I sincerely hope I don’t have to use this.” He repeated again.

Peabody gulped. “Right.” He turned to Sherman. “Sherman you are going to stay here.” Peabody said “I need to take Martin in the WABAC real quick.”

“Ok Mr. Peabody.” Sherman nodded.

Martin and Peabody started back toward the elevator. They stepped inside and Peabody hit the button for the WABAC room. As the doors closed he glimpsed Sherman looking after them with a look of worry on his face.

The elevator doors opened and Martin followed Peabody straight ahead to the big red door that housed the WABAC. He had to marvel at the weird blue holographic displays on either side as they made their way towards the door. Peabody entered the access code and the vault-like door swung open. Immediately the platform began moving and Peabody stepped onto it. “It’s fine.” he said, as he noticed Martin still standing in the doorway, a look of apprehension on his face. “Alright but if you try anything…” Martin said. He stepped onto the platform and it took them both straight toward the WABAC. As they got closer the steps flipped down and the door opened. Peabody started up them and entered the WABAC. Martin followed him inside and looked around at all the lights and buttons and panels. He noticed the chairs. “Wow, I’m guessing you don’t take adults in here much.” he said. “No, not really”. Peabody answered as he sat down in his usual spot. The chairs weren’t big enough for Martin so he sat cross-legged on the floor where Sherman would’ve sat had this been a normal excursion.

“Date and place?” Peabody asked.

“I wanted to see her a couple times before she died, just when we graduated and when we were married, so the date of our graduation was May 16th 1994 and the place, New York State University.”

Peabody punched in the coordinates and the WABAC whirred to life, spinning and disappeared in a flash of light.


	5. Act II: Scene II: The Main Act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so again, if I got anything factually wrong in this chapter, forgive me, I didn’t do any research. Also, at this point, I’ve unfortunately discovered a major plot hole in this story. And I still haven’t been able to explain it or fix it. So I’m just leaving it in. See if you can figure out what it is. Just don’t fall in it, heehee… Nice long chapter update for y’all.

Martin watched as the ethereal blue stream of the time continuum showed up in front of the WABAC window and they shot through it. He almost fell back due to the g-forces as they shot forward but recovered. He had only read books and dreamed of travelling through time as a boy but never imagined he would ever see it happen in his lifetime. Now, here he was, travelling through it now.  

“This is amazing.” he said.

“Yes it is, isn’t it?” Peabody said as he smiled a little “I built this for Sherman.”

“You did? Why? And that’s another thing, why did you adopt Sherman?” Martin had been planning to ask the beagle the latter question and this was as good a time as any.

“Well, it’s a long story, but the WABAC seems to be having a little trouble locating a wormhole” Peabody said as he checked the display to the left of him. He turned and faced Martin and began:

“When I found Sherman, he was just a baby abandoned in a cardboard box in an alley. As for the why…I’ll have to tell you about my puppyhood. When I was a puppy I lived in a dog adoption center and children would come and look at the puppies up for adoption. But because I could talk I was often passed over by them when they discovered I could talk. A couple of them tried to talk to me, but they eventually left me because I wouldn’t do any normal dog things like fetch, it’s an ‘exercise in futility’ I would tell them. I preferred to talk intellectually and I guess that made them uncomfortable, talking with a dog about human things. So I set to work to become what I am now, help the human race anyway I can, that way maybe some will consider me a ‘part’ of it. As was walking down the street one day I was passing an alleyway and I heard Sherman crying. I found him in the cardboard box and decided to adopt him because of the one thing we both had in common: we were both rejected. And misery loves company I guess, and I have certainly grown to love that boy, and will do anything for him. I invented the WABAC to teach him about history.”

Peabody was interrupted as the WABAC shot out into the sunlight, he turned back to the controls and immediately cloaked the WABAC. Martin leaned forward to look out, eager for a glimpse of his wife.

“It looks like we’re just over the roof of the biology building, the ceremony was held on the front lawn, over there.” Martin said as he pointed toward it.

Peabody steered the WABAC toward the lawn and lowered the WABAC so it hovered just behind the stage, they would have a perfect view of Ellie as she walked up to get her diploma.

Martin gasped “There she is.”

Peabody looked where he was pointing and followed it to the front row. She was sitting with a 20 years younger Martin and both were smiling from ear to ear.

“You both look really happy.” Peabody noted.

“Yes, we’re both graduating. There are only two times in my life where I’ve been happiest: today and our wedding.”

“Ellie Fredrickson.” the dean said into the mic.

Ellie got up and started up the stage. Martin simply stared at her. He watched as the president handed Ellie her diploma and she walked back down the stage to thunderous applause and sat down again next to Martin.

“Martin Thomas.” the dean called out another name.

The younger Martin got up and stepped up onto the stage. Peabody marveled at how 20 years had changed the man so much. The Martin sitting next to him had a couple wrinkles starting and a few wispy gray hairs starting. The younger Martin had short, slicked back hair and no wrinkles or gray hair at all. He had wondered occasionally in his life what would happen to him as he aged. Would he get gray fur?  Would the fur around his eyes start wrinkling? But the number one question, or worry rather, on Peabody’s mind was “Would he survive to see Sherman’s possible children? or at least until he was eighteen?” The beagle had worried about that a lot. He knew dogs didn’t live as long as humans. But he was still relatively young, and so was Sherman, so they had some time. And he was no ordinary dog anyways, so he had simply hoped that whatever phenomenon had endowed him with human speech and thought had also granted him a human’s lifespan.

The dean handed Martin his diploma and he stepped off the stage and again to thunderous applause as he took his place next to Ellie again.

“Thank you, Mr. Peabody.” Martin smiled at him. “I’ve seen enough.”

“Where and when was the wedding?” Peabody asked him.

“Same year, June 25, 1994 at the Hillsong NYC church.” he replied.

Peabody flew the WABAC high into the air, set the coordinates, and hit the red button. The WABAC dematerialized again and soon Martin was watching the ethereal blue vapor that was the time stream.

“I’m curious, did you ever have children?” Peabody asked him.

“No, I was a business man who travelled the world and she came with me wherever we went. Our lifestyle wasn’t conducive to having children. We were thinking about settling down in NYC in our thirties but…..” he stopped as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

“…She died before you could?” Peabody finished.

He nodded.

The WABAC burst out of the time stream over the church. Peabody quickly cloaked it again and said “It looks like there are no windows into the sanctuary, we’ll have to be careful if we have to leave the WABAC that no one recognizes you.”

“Oh, we had it outside, just outside the doors, it was a nice summer day.” Martin pointed to the north side of the church. Peabody flew towards it and as they flew over the north side they noticed a red carpet on the lawn leading up to the front doors of the church, the pastor and younger Martin were standing there. Foldup chairs were situated on either side for the audience that was in attendance. Peabody situated the WABAC so that they could look down on the scene.

Martin gasped and looked around. “Artificial gravity.” Peabody replied to his nervous look at the fact that he should have fallen face first into the WABAC’s windshield.

They watched as a car drove up near the opposite end of the red carpet and Ellie got out in her bridal dress. Peabody let Martin be as he watched her walk down the aisle, take younger Martins hand, and both turn to face the pastor and listened as they both recited their vows and finally kissed.

By the time it was over Martin was crying. “Thank you, Mr. Peabody. I was just wondering if you could do one more thing for me.”

By this time Peabody had already been feeling sorry for Martin for a while and decided to humor him.

“Of course, what is it?”

“Could…could you take me to when she died?”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Peabody looked at him with concern.

“I…never really got to say goodbye. I feel like it will help if I see her then.”

“Of course, date and place?”

“Mount Sinai Hospital, August 11, 1999.” said Martin.

For the third time Peabody flew the WABAC into the air, entered the coordinates and hit the red button. Once again they were flying through the time stream but this time the WABAC materialized almost instantly over the hospital. Peabody cloaked the WABAC again. “Do you remember where in the hospital you were?”

“We were in room 22c, so second floor.” Martin said.

Peabody flew around the second floor windows until Martin spotted himself.

“Right here.” he said, pointing to the window.

Peabody set the WABAC’s hover mode again and maneuvered it right in front of the window. Luckily no one had shut the curtains that day. Peabody turned on the WABAC’s high powered microphone and turned it toward the window so they could hear. They had arrived about an hour before she had died so there was not much going on in the room.

Peabody took this moment to ask: “What did she die of?”

“Lung cancer, specifically Adenocarcinomas, I don’t know what type it is but that’s what it was called.”

Peabody started “ _I’ve been working on a cure for that! I finished my latest test tube of it. I’m pretty sure I got it right. I just don’t know if it will work. And I haven’t been able to find a test subject….Ellie would be perfect….I could save her…I’d better check the time stream first though.._.” he thought.  

Peabody suddenly started rigorously typing at the keyboard in front of him and Martin wondered what had gotten the dog all riled up.

“What is it?” he asked him, but Peabody ignored him and said out loud “WABAC, if Ellie Thomas does not die here, today, will that affect me, my time stream, at all?” 

After a few moments the female voice of the WABAC answered “There is a 1% chance that Hector Peabody’s timeline will be altered”

“Does not die?! What are you talking about?!” Martin anxiously asked.

Peabody turned and faced him “Martin, I’ve been working on a cure for lung cancer but I haven’t been able to find any test subjects. And Ellie is perfect… But….I can’t guarantee it will work. And if it does work who knows if an alternate universe will form. But if we go back to before the cancer developed we could save her and test my cure at the same time.” The dog finished with a smile.

Martin couldn’t believe his ears. SAVE Ellie? “Well let’s go!” he yelled simply.

“It’s not that simple, there’s a 1% chance my timeline could be altered.” Peabody said “So who knows what could happen to me and Sherman.”

Martin suddenly pulled out his gun and pointed it at Peabody. “I don’t care, if there’s a chance we can save my wife, I want it.” he said with a crazed look on his face.

Peabody gasped and held his paws up. “Ok, hold on, there’s no need for that.” He said as he stared at the gun in Martins hand.

“I just need to go back to our time and get it.” he said.

“Let’s do that then.” Martin said, gun still pointed at Peabody.

Peabody set the WABAC coordinates to its place at his penthouse and the time a few seconds after they left. He hit the red button and the WABAC disappeared again.

They finally reached home and the WABAC materialized at its proper place and slowly came to rest. Peabody got up and started walking toward the door.

 

Martin put the gun away and said “If you try anything….”

“Right.” Peabody said as Martin followed him out of the WABAC. They headed across the platform and to the right to Peabody’s lab. He headed for a safe on the far side of the room. He opened it and removed a vial of green liquid. He moved to a table and prepared a syringe with it. He put the protective plastic cover over the needle and inserted it into a plastic bag.

“All ready.” he said.

“Alright let’s go.” said Martin.

He followed Peabody back to the WABAC and Peabody asked him “When did the doctors say the cancer started?”

“About a year before she died.”

“And whereabouts did you live?”

“Upper East Side.”

Peabody input said location and date and hit the red button.

They emerged and cloaked over the Upper East Side. Martin told him his address directed him to it. They finally reached his house.

“Now the only problem is giving it to her, you look older and can’t just walk up to her and administer it, she’ll think you’re a stranger or worse, your older self. Of course I can’t just waltz over to her and administer it.” said Peabody.

“Well we are going to have to figure out something.” said Martin.

Peabody thought for a few moments “The only way we are going to be able to do this is by catching her alone and unconscious.”

Martin smiled as he reached into one jacket pocket and pulled out a bottle, he reached his other hand into the other pocket and pulled out a white cloth.

Peabody looked at him skeptically. “Is that going to work?”

“It worked with Sherman.”

Peabody had a hard time keeping from throttling Martins neck. “Ok, so we’ve figured that out, now we just need to catch her alone.”

“What is the date and time?”

Peabody looked at the WABAC’s date readout for the time they were currently in. “June 31 and its 3:25 in the afternoon.”

“Perfect, at this time she was working nearby and would walk in the summertime.” Martin said.

“Can you fit in that alley?” He pointed at an alley just across the street from their house and Peabody steered the WABAC into it, they fit with a little wiggle room to spare.  

“Alright so she gets off work at 3:30 and it takes her another 10 minutes to walk.” Martin said.

“Ok so we’ll just have to wait for her.” Peabody said.

“Right, so here’s the plan, I will drug her, bring her in here and you will administer it, got it?”

“Got it.” Peabody said. He watched Martin exit the WABAC and take his place against the wall near the entrance to the alley. After about 15 minutes he noticed a shadow on the ground getting closer. He watched as Martin waited until Ellie was right in front of him, jumped out of the alley and placed the cloth over her mouth and nose. She struggled but after a few seconds went limp in Martin’s arms. He pulled her back into the alley and carried her over to the door and pulled her in. He lay her head carefully on the floor of the WABAC as Peabody grabbed the syringe.

“You ready?” he asked Martin.

“Definitely.”

Peabody placed the syringe against the flesh on Ellie’s arm and pushed it in.

* * *

 

“Thank you, Mr. President, I’m glad the Queen of England was pleased with my recipe.” Peabody said as he sat in his office in his penthouse on the phone with the president. He was happy, he had been so successful in his life as a dog in a human world, he had won the Nobel Prize, and he was a captain of industry, a two-time Olympic medal winner, a chef, and an advisor to the heads of state. He felt like he had everything.

Suddenly an image of a redheaded boy popped into his mind. “ _Who is tha..WHAT is going on?_ ” he thought. He slowly got up as more and more memories began to flood his mind. The last memory fell into place and he finally remembered what had happened and realized where he was now.

“NOOOOO!” 


	6. Act III: Scene I: Unforseen Consequences

He slowly sat down again. The shock of receiving more memories was slowly wearing off. He remembered everything… Sherman, Martin, and his life in that universe and this one. It was almost overwhelming. He laughed and thought “ _Well, at least I know the cure worked._ ” He remembered walking past that alley…but he had not heard single sound, not a cry from the baby he would come to love as his own, not a whimper from the boy he would give his life for. But still refusing to believe what he knew to be fact, he got up, walked out of his office and over to where Sherman’s room should have been. He opened the door and looked in. It was empty of course. He knew that. He had been planning to use it for storage. He slowly sunk to the floor in the doorway, sobbing. “ _What am I going to do? WHAT am I going to do?_ _Saving Elli caused an alternate universe where I never find Sherman somehow._ ” He thought. He compared his memories of this universe to the previous one. The only difference he found was that Sherman and the WABAC didn’t exist in his memories in this universe. Everything else seemed to be the same. “ _Of course because I never adopted Sherman, I didn’t invent the WABAC._ ”

“ _I wonder…._ ” He got up and began to pace in and out the door. “ _Martin and Sherman must be connected somehow, otherwise this shouldn’t have happened. I wonder what happened to him…Obviously I will need to build another WABAC, and then figure out how to restore the previous universe._ ” He snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. “ _All I should have to do is prevent myself from getting the cure. Maybe I could swap it with a similar looking harmless liquid right before Martin and I come to get it…That should work. I just want to see what happened to Sherman before I go….or if he even exists…I could start with the school…_ ”

Peabody ran to his bedroom and checked the time and day of the week. It was a Tuesday in the morning. “Great, classes will be in session” he said to himself. He returned to the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. It came to a stop and he exited. “Hello Mr. Peabody, going somewhere?” Ashley greeted him.

“Yes, I need to go to the Susan B. Anthony School.”

She looked surprised “Whatever for?”

“I….uh, need to talk to the principal there.”

She looked at him quizzically but didn’t question him further. He got on his moped and drove off. As he drove he noticed that the city seemed the same. “ _Well at least nothing’s changed too much._ ” he mused. He finally reached Susan B. Anthony and hopped off. Since classes were in session the school grounds were empty. He walked up to the doors, opened them, and stepped inside. Of course he knew exactly where the principal’s office was and headed there. As he passed classrooms he noticed teachers giving him funny looks, they knew who he was but why he was in the school they had no idea. He finally reached the principal’s office. There was a sign on the door that read “Principal Purdy”

“ _Well at least Principal Purdy is still here._ ” He knocked.  

“Come in.”

Peabody opened the door and was greeted with Principal Purdy’s surprised face. It took him a moment to take in the fact that a dog was standing in his office.

“Uh, you’re Mr. Peabody right?”

Peabody had figured this would happen, “ _Since I never adopted Sherman, I never had to enroll him in school, thus Purdy doesn’t know me._ ”

“Yes, that’s me.” He replied.

“Well uh, this is interesting, whatever can I do for you?” Purdy looked at him.

“I was wondering if you could tell me if a certain student is enrolled here. Do you have any students with the first name of Sherman?”

The principal looked at him curiously “Yes we do, Sherman-”

But the last name was cut off as both dog and human heard a knock on the principal’s door again.

“Come in.” Purdy said and the door opened.

Peabody turned and gasped.

In the doorway stood Sherman. But not the Sherman he knew. This one was older, about 14. He had the same red hair but it was slicked and combed down and hanging over his face, obscuring his eyes. He was wearing the normal schools uniform but his tie was tied around his forehead, and his shirt collar was undone.

Sherman folded his arms as he leaned against the doorway and looked at Peabody. “Why do you have a dog in your office? And why is it wearing glasses and a bow tie?” He said in a bored voice

“Sherman this is Mr. Peabody, you know, that dog that’s famous…” Purdy replied “But why are you here? And what’s with your uniform? Why aren’t you wearing it properly?”

“Eh, the teacher sent me here because I refused to do what she said.” He said with a triumphant smile.

“Which was?” Purdy asked him.

“Fix my uniform. I like wearing it like this.” he said simply.

“Sherman you WILL fix that uniform or you will be suspended from this school. You’ve flaunted authority too many times and I’m done with it.” Purdy said.

“Eh, fine.” Sherman said as he untied the tie and fixed his shirt collar. He mumbled something as he left and shut the door. 

“Yes, so that was Sherman Thomas, he has been a bit of trouble recently. Doesn’t listen to his teachers and has skipped classes on multiple occasions.” Purdy said to Peabody.

Peabody spun around and faced Purdy again “What did you say his last name was?”

“Thomas, his parents are Martin and Ellie”

All speech and thought suddenly left Peabody. The ramifications of what he had just heard felt like getting punched in the stomach. “ _Sherman’s parents…..Sherman’s PARENTS…Saving Ellie allowed Sherman to be born and not be left in the alley….for me to find…In my universe he must have different parents though...because he was still born. Unless Martin…_ ”

“Uh, Mr. Peabody?” Purdy said. “Are you alright?”

Peabody had been so lost in thought that he forgot where he was. “Oh, yes I’m fine. Thank you, that’s all I needed.”

“No problem.” Purdy said.

Peabody left Purdy’s office and began walking toward the entrance again. As he passed one of the classrooms he noticed Sherman through the window. He was slumped in his seat looking bored. Peabody finally reached the entrance and walked down the steps and toward the moped again.

A million thoughts swirled in his mind as he drove back to the penthouse. He gasped as he realized what he had to do. “ _Ellie’s going to have to die in order for me to restore the previous universe. I can’t do that….there’s got to be another way…_ ”

He finally reached the penthouse building, parked the moped and walked into the lobby. Ashley greeted him again but he was still lost in thought and simply waved. He entered the elevator and it whisked him up to his penthouse.

He exited and decided that building another WABAC was what he had to do next…

* * *

 

It had taken Peabody a week or two to gather all the parts he needed to build another WABAC. Some he had had to get shipped from another country and others he had on hand already. Now he had finally finished it and stepped back and admired it. “ _Not bad, Peabody._ ” he thought. He had also been trying to think of ways he could save Ellie while preserving Sherman and the timeline but he had so far been unsuccessful.

He ran over to his lab and grabbed the vial he had created for swapping with the real cure.

“ _Right. I think I am ready._ ”

He walked back over to the newly built WABAC and stepped inside. He input the proper date, time and location and pressed the red button.

He appeared right over his penthouse and checked the date and time. “ _This should be right before we came and got the cure._ ” He cloaked and landed the WABAC a few feet away from the front doors. He grabbed the vial and left the WABAC. As he approached the doors he noticed Ashley was gone and so there was no one at the desk. “ _She probably went to get breakfast. Thank goodness for that, otherwise I’d have to explain how I got out without her seeing._ ” he thought.

He ran to the elevator and hit the button for his lab. It rose and the doors finally opened. He ran into his lab and right over to the safe. “ _As soon as I place this one in the safe my alternate universe should be restored since Ellie died._ ” He took a deep breath, unlocked the door, removed the cure, replaced it with the fake, and shut the door quickly.


	7. Act III: Scene II: Painful Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not too sure how well I did with these next two, I feel like I could’ve ended it on a better note, or differently. Double chapter update, with ending, yay!

“What did she die of?” Peabody asked Martin. They were sitting in the WABAC hovering in front of the window of the room in the hospital where Ellie died.

“Lung cancer, specifically Adenocarcinomas, I don’t know what type it is but that’s what it was called.”

Peabody suddenly had a very strange feeling. As if memories were flooding into his brain. That is in fact what it was. He remembered that he had been in alternate universe, he had discovered that Sherman was the son of Martin and Ellie Thomas, and that he had swapped the cure with a fake. He then realized that it had worked. He was back. Sherman was safe. Time had replayed over again, the way it was supposed to be. It was still overwhelming for him. He then realized he still hadn’t thought of a way to save Ellie while keeping Sherman. He began to think.

“ _There is no way, I’m going to have to let her die...No! You’ve got to think of something, you are Peabody, super genius, you can think of anything. Are you a killer? Would you kill for your son?...I don’t have to tell Martin…Sherman’s not your son. He actually has parents that exist, and his father is sitting right next to you…But he’s not his father, his wife died- IS dying right now. I…I love Sherman. I can’t let him go. I won’t let him go…So you’ll take him from his parents? Now who’s the kidnapper?...They won’t even know..”_

“I’m sorry.” was all Peabody could say after a while.

Martin nodded and they waited.

Pretty soon they noticed younger Martin lift his head and look at Ellie, she had said something to him.

Martin closed his eyes and remembered:

_“You always tell me that, but I love you too.”_

_“I know, I just like saying it. Can you do one last thing for me?”_

_“Anything.” He said._

_“Please don’t give in to hate and bitterness because I’m gone. I know it’s clichéd but it’s happened way too many times on movies. It will be easy to do that but, if you need to, find someone to make you happy… you need to exercise your feelings too…”_

He opened his eyes again and watched himself as he called the doctor in and the doctor ask him if he wanted her to pass peacefully. He watched as the doctor moved over to her side and inject sodium pentobarbital into her. He continued watching as he and Ellie exchanged ‘I love you’s’

He placed his hand on the WABAC’s windshield and said “Goodbye…..Ellie.” just as she died. He wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his face in his arms. Peabody let him be as he continued to think.

“ _Great, you let a human die…all because of your selfishness. You dedicated yourself to helping the human race. This isn’t helping, this is murder….But I killed one to save another…You didn’t SAVE another, Sherman would still be fine even if you had saved her.”_

Peabody’s inner turmoil had become so great that it leaked out into his physical features, a small tear fell onto his muzzle.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” he said.

Martin nodded “Thank you, for…everything. I feel better now that I’ve been able to see her again….after 15 years.” he said. “I’m ready to go now.”

Peabody nodded, wiped the tears from his face and set the WABAC once again to the present time and the penthouse.

They emerged and Peabody cloaked and asked Martin where he lived. He of course knew exactly where but he figured he’d better ask in order to avoid any suspicion on Martins part. Martin told him and Peabody flew the WABAC to Martins house. He parked the WABAC and Martin got up.

“I’m ….. sorry for kidnapping Sherman, I just didn’t think you’d let any random person travel in time.” he said.

“Well, Sherman is alright and you got what you wanted.” Peabody said with a smile.

“Thank you.” Martin said.

He exited the WABAC and Peabody flew back towards the penthouse.

* * *

 

Sherman sighed. He hoped Peabody would be ok. Especially since Martin had a gun. He was still standing in front of the elevator. He turned around and walked back to his room. He opened the door and noticed that his comic book was still sitting on the edge of his bed where he had left it the previous day. He picked it up and began reading, hoping to take his mind off of Peabody.

He had barely read a few pages when he heard the elevator ding and open. A few seconds later he heard Peabody yell “Sherman!?” and come running toward his bedroom door. He flung it open and noticed Sherman sitting on his bed. Sherman got off and before he could say anything Mr. Peabody had rushed forward and thrown his arms around Sherman.

“Oh, you’re okay, I’m so glad you’re ok.” he said as he hugged Sherman tightly

“Of course I’m ok, why wouldn’t I be ok?” Sherman asked him, wrapping his arms around Peabody in a hug as well. “You just left and now you’re back, how did it go?”

Peabody released the hug and held him at arm’s length, paws on his shoulders.

Sherman noticed tears in the beagle’s eyes and on his muzzle. He gasped “What’s wrong, what happened?”

“Oh, Sherman. It went fine. I’m just glad it’s all over now. And that you’re safe…..and here. I…I love you, don’t ever forget that.” he said as he hugged him again.

“I can’t…with you telling me all the time. I love you too Mr. Peabody.” Sherman chuckled, enjoying the feeling of Peabody’s fur on his chin as he put his head over his father’s shoulder.

They continued hugging for a few moments until Sherman heard Peabody’s stomach growling.

“Wow, how long WERE you gone for?”

“Enough to get hungry, I guess.” Peabody said with a grin. “I’ll go get started on breakfast.”

“Good, because I’m still hungry. Martins breakfast wasn’t very filling.” Sherman said, fully looking forward to whatever Peabody would make.

Peabody left Sherman’s bedroom and started toward the kitchen. He started getting ingredients out of the cupboard. As he worked tears began to fall from his eyes as he thought “ _I’m sorry Martin, I’m SO sorry._ ”


	8. Epilogue: Collateral Damage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So think of this as an alternate ending or maybe an optional chapter. Basically I felt like the way I ended the last one wasn’t very good. I wanted to end the story but still leave myself open for maybe using Martin in a sequel or future story. And if this chapter happened then Martin would be unknown to Peabody. So if I make any future stories with Martin then just pretend this chapter never happened.

Peabody woke up. He was sitting in the chair in his lab near the memory machine. The first thing he noticed was that everything was blank. He couldn’t remember anything that happened. The last thing he remembered was being at Thrillz talking with Daniel Ericson.

“ _How did I end up here?_ ” he thought.

He noticed one of his laptops sitting in front of him. There was a video waiting to be played with a message telling him to play it. Peabody hit the play button and an image of him sitting in the very same seat in his lab popped onto the screen.

“Hello Peabody.” he began “You may be wondering why you’re missing memories from the past couple days….”

The older Peabody watched as his younger self continued speaking.

Peabody sighed and said “The truth is… You deleted them, or rather I will. We made a choice recently, a choice I’m not happy we made. There’s no way we can change it. And I can’t live with it. So I’ve decided to remove all memory of the incident. It involves that new memory device we created. Sherman was kidnapped, but don’t worry, we got him back. But then something happened that created alternate universes and I remembered each one because of that brilliant device of ours. In order to keep Sherman we had to make a choice, a life and death choice, between Sherman and another person.”

He took a shaky breath.

“I chose the former of course. Unfortunately our memory fragmentation is too great, what with there being memories from multiple universes in our brain. The WABAC can’t remove only the memories of the alternate universes, it’s all or nothing. That’s also why I will have to knock myself out. I’ve instructed Sherman to under no circumstances reveal what has happened to me. Since he doesn’t have the device I can’t alter his memories. Love him Peabody, love him like there’s no tomorrow. You never know when he could be taken from you…” Peabody leaned forward and stopped the video.

It ended and Peabody sat there dumbstruck.

“Huh.” was all he could say.

FIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you enjoyed my first multichapter fanfic. I feel like I may have rushed it at times, but overall I think I did a good job. Now that you have the whole story let me know in the reviews what you thought of it in general and what I could’ve done better. I may take some of those suggestions, because I intend to polish this story. But for now I’m taking a break. I also may go back to my first one-shot and add a second chapter as multiple people have requested it. Until next time!


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